The Irregular at Magic High School Volume 3

Chapter 0

There are currently nine national magic university attached
highschools throughout the state.

The first highschool is in Kanto (Tokyo). The second highschool is in
Kinki (Hyougo). The third highschool is in Hokuriku (Ishikawa). The
fourth highschool is in Tokai (Shizuoka). The fifth highschool is in
Tohoku (Miyagi). The sixth highschool is in San'in (Shimane). The
seventh highschool is in Shikoku (Kochi). The eighth highschool is in
Hokkaido. The ninth highschool is in Kyushu (Kumamoto).

These are the only magic highschools in the country. It does not refer
to the fact that there are only nine highschools attached to the nine
national magic universities, but rather that they are the sole nine
highschools teaching magic as the main curriculum.

To tell the truth, the government is more than keen to increase the
number of magic highschools. They are unable to do so because they
cannot secure enough mages who go on to become teachers.

The first, second and third highschools accept 200 new students a
year. The other six can take another 100 each.

In total, that's 1200 entrants. This is the limit to the new number of
mages that can be produced per year. It's approximately equal to the
number of youth with eligible levels of magic that appears in the
population.

But at the same time it's thought that if more ample educational
opportunities could be provided, the possibility that even more youth
with late budding magical talent could be discovered is not
inconsiderable.

The reality however is that the running of just these nine magic
highschools fully stretches the human resources of this country.
Therefore the only way to address this deficit is to take these 1200
freshmen a year, train them as much as possible, and raise their level
to the max. In doing so the number of mages will gradually increase,
and in the future it is expected that this positive spiral will eventually
fix the dearth of teachers.

One of the measures taken for that are competitions at the school level
between the nine magic highschools, to fuel the aspirations of the
students. The largest of these is the summer Nine School Competition.

It's a nationwide magic highschool magic tournament.

Every year a selection of magic highschool students from across the
country meet, putting their pride on the line, and unfold a story of
frustration and glory.

With a huge crowd including not only government officials and those
interested in magic but businesses, overseas companies, researchers
and scouts, this is the greatest stage for magic highschool students to
shine.

This year too, soon, the curtains of that momentous event will be
raised again.

Chapter 1

The year 2095 AD, mid July.

The week after the first semester's finals were over for the National
Magic University affiliated First High, the students devoted all their
energy towards preparing for the Nine Schools Competition during the
summer. However, he — Tatsuya Shiba that is, was completely out of
tune with such school spirit. This was partially due to the fact that his
logical nature overrode his emotions. That being said, the primary
reason for his being at school today was because the faculty had
summoned him for a meeting in regards to his exam scores.

"Tatsuya."

"Leo...... Why is everyone here?"

Having finally escaped from the Faculty Room, Tatsuya found his
classmates Saijou Leonhart, Chiba Erika, and Shibata Mizuki waiting
for him outside.

Tatsuya's little sister Miyuki was part of the Student Council, which
was currently in the middle of preparations for the Nine Schools
Competition in the School Council Room, so she wasn't there.

As if to replace Miyuki, Miyuki's classmates Mitsui Honoka and
Kitayama Shizuku were there with worried expressions.

The Faculty Room was located on the teacher's floor, which was
separate from where the students usually attended classes.

However, that did not mean students did not pass by.

Regardless of whether the passersby were of the same grade or even
upperclassmen, everyone snuck glances over at the five people
surrounding Tatsuya.

Which was only natural.

They stood out. A lot.

This was not a distinction reserved for today's situation, this was
always the case.

Tatsuya had been appointed to the Public Morals Committee even as a

Course 2 student and, through his numerous accomplishments during
recruitment week, had proved that his selection was no fluke,
ultimately resulting in his fame spreading across campus. While his
single-handed annihilation of the terrorist organization had not been
publicized, his outstanding success during recruitment week was
enough to garner quite a lot of attention from his classmates and even
female upperclassmen.

Erika was a publicly acknowledged beauty.

Owing to her constant proximity to Miyuki and Erika, Mizuki's
appearance seemed to pale slightly in comparison. That being said, her
elegant and refined beauty was rated quite highly among male
upperclassmen.

Despite being constantly ridiculed by Erika (or maybe "constantly
bickering" would be better), Leo's Germanic features and superb
athletic abilities identified him as "someone worth noting" among the
female population (the "pure Japanese style" that Leo refers to would
be black-haired and black-eyed).

As for Honoka and Shizuku, they were two superb students even
among the 1st Year Course 1 students. Their appearance would easily
qualify within the boundaries of cuteness (Strictly in terms of
appearance, Tatsuya would be the most mundane).

Whether they wanted to or not, a group that transcended the Course 1
and 2 boundary and socialized together naturally drew extra attention.

Even so, possibly because this cohort's 1st Year Representative,
Student Council member and far famed beauty Miyuki wasn't here,
there were actually significantly fewer onlookers than usual.

However, the people who paid these glances no heed whatsoever were
unexpectedly close by.

For example, this man right here.

"It should be us asking what you're up to, right? Why did you get
called to the Faculty Room?"

Hearing Leo's question, Tatsuya immediately understood.

It appeared that his friend was concerned on his behalf. For a moment,
Tatsuya contemplated fabricating a reason to divert them, but he

changed his mind upon reflecting that they deserved his honesty.

"The teachers interrogated me about the technical skills portion of the
exam."

Hearing this, Leo squinted his eyes in displeasure.

"......Interrogate sounds a tad suspicious. So what did they ask about?"

"Long story short, they wanted to know if I was tanking the test."

Erika was the first to express her outrage at Tatsuya's answer.

"What the heck? Tatsuya-kun doesn't benefit in the slightest for doing
that. Only a moron would ask that."

Erika's observation was not wrong, so Tatsuya could only smile back
wryly. It was another story altogether if someone cheated to get a
higher score, but there was no point in intentionally getting a lower
score. This suspicion was just as ridiculous as Erika surmised.

"However, I can understand why the teachers think this way."

"Why?"

Shizuku's soft words bewildered Mizuki.

"Tatsuya-kun's scores are just that astounding."

Tatsuya did not preen at Honoka's answer, but being overly humble
might elicit a negative reaction as well. Unable to decide between the
two, Tatsuya could only smile wryly again.

For First High — the final exams for magic high schools included
magic theory examinations based on recall and technical skills
examinations.

On the other hand, language arts, math, science, sociology and other
mundane topics were graded based on daily homework. This was an
institution that focused on high quality training for Magicians, so from
the school's perspective, having the students focus too much on
subjects outside of magic was redundant (Tatsuya and company make
the distinction between Magicians and Magic Artificers only because
their training naturally branches out in two directions. Normally,
society will lump Magic Artificers into the same category as
Magicians, but will not use "Magic Artificers" to refer to Magic
Researchers who cannot use magic).

In terms of magic theory, the mandatory classes covered the
foundations of magic learning and magic theory on the test; two
additional topics were picked from the electives magic geometry,
magic languages, magic botany, and magic architecture; as well as one
selected from either magic history and magic systems theory, for a
total of five topics.

Magic technical skills were measured through application ability (the
speed of magic design), magic tolerance (the scale of the Magic
Sequence), interference ability (strength of rewriting Eidos) as well as
the combined Magic Power given from the culmination of all three,
thus resulting in four scores.

Students with superlative scores would have their names and ranking
publicly announced on the campus website.

The 1st Year students' results had already been announced.

Those who had earned the highest combined scores between magic
theory and technical skills were completely as expected.

First Place: Shiba Miyuki.

Second Place: Mitsui Honoka.

Third Place: Kitayama Shizuku only a few points behind.

The first three were all names from Class A, and it wasn't until Fourth
place that a male student named "Tomitsuka" from Class B appeared.
Beyond that, familiar names included Morisaki at Ninth Place. The
first twenty spots were all Course 1 students.

A glance at the Technical Skills portion would yield the same result.
While the placements swapped around a little, the first twenty places
were still occupied by Course 1 students.

Strictly speaking, First Place was Miyuki, Second Place was Shizuku,
Third Place was Morisaki, Fourth was Honoka. Combined score
notwithstanding, Class A dominated the Technical Skills portion to the
extent that it caused their teachers considerable headache (Class
distribution was supposed to be split evenly through A to D, so this
sort of academic showing obviously revealed that Class A grasped the
materials for the first semester much better than the other three).

However, if based solely on the Magic Theory portion, an entirely

different and astounding picture revealed itself.

First Place: Class E Shiba Tatsuya.

Second Place: Class A Shiba Miyuki.

Third Place: Class E Yoshida Mikihiko.

Honoka was fourth, Shizuku at tenth, Mizuki at seventeenth, Erika in
twentieth, while Leo and Morisaki fell out of the rankings.

When separating Course 1 and 2 students, the difference in technical
skills played a heavy role. However, the general consensus was that
students that scored poorly on technical skills would also have a hard
time grasping the theory as well. Because of all the complex concepts,
it was very hard to understand the theory without perceiving it
firsthand.

Even so, two of the top three were Course 2 students.

That alone was an unprecedented situation, yet Tatsuya's
accomplishment was even more amazing. His average from the theory
portion — not the total — was easily a dozen points higher than the
second place score, leaving him in sole and undisputed possession of
First Place.

"Even if theory and technical skills are two different things, there
should be a limit."

"But I don't believe Tatsuya-kun would tank his score."

After Shizuku objectively expressed her opinion, Mizuki countered
back in a displeased tone.

"Of course Shizuku knows that."

"But the teachers aren't like us, since we know what kind of person
Tatsuya-kun is."

Honoka and Erika both started to smooth things over.

"Yeah, they only know us from the other side of the terminal
screen......"

Just as Leo said, this was a major deficiency in modern education.
Even if modern teachers personally came to the lecture hall like
teachers from the previous century, it still wouldn't guarantee that they
could fully understand their students.

To address this problem, the school had created opinion boxes to
replace last century's office hours system.

"......How about asking Haruka-chan?"

Counselors handled the situations where students were unsatisfied
with the school or other on-campus incidents. Discounting whether the
label "Haruka-chan" was appropriate, the suggestion itself bore merit,
but Tatsuya sharply shook his head.

"I talked with Ono-sensei yesterday. In truth, she informed me about
all the major questions they would ask today."

"Such an unreliable teacher."

"Don't be that way. New counselors don't possess much in terms of
authority anyways."

It was Tatsuya's turn to smile gently and comfort the irritated Erika.

"......Tatsuya-kun must've been even harsher than me, right?"

As Erika guessed, Tatsuya's words were considerably more
confrontational.

"Whoa?"

Erika's precise retort caused Leo to elicit a strange noise.

"......What is it?"

Erika squinted as she asked.

"This woman is actually capable of saying something serious."

Leo widened his eyes as he softly muttered to himself.

"Silence!"

Erika smacked him with a rolled up notepad.

As a matter of fact, even in an age where digital information was so
common, notepads were still prevalent. Especially for magic-based
schools, during the teaching of magic languages, the very motion of
"writing" was in itself an important act. Since teachers primarily used
pictures and diagrams in magic geometry, using a notepad to record
the drawings was vastly easier compared to using a terminal, so magic
high school students were more likely to carry notepads than students
from normal schools. That being said, the exact reason why Erika

carried around a notepad despite not being in class remained a
mystery.

"Ow......"

Leo was unable to dodge the incoming blow from the notepad and
crouched down, holding his head in pain. It wasn't like he was just
sitting there taking the hits without trying to resist, but currently,
Erika's smiting speed was much greater than Leo's evasion speed, so
(?) in this situation, whenever he unilaterally decided to butt in, he
would be unilaterally smote.

"......You violence addict, my head isn't a drum!"

Leo lodged a serious protest, which was casually ignored by Erika.

Probably due to the fact that this scene had endlessly repeated itself
over the last three months, Mizuki only let out a helpless smile and
left them to it, rather than panicking like she had in the beginning.
Also, she used this to redirect the tangent back to the original topic,
avoiding any possible escalation of the conflict.

"Tatsuya-kun, did you solve the teachers' misunderstanding?"

"Well, yes, on some level."

"On some level?"

At Mizuki's concise question, Tatsuya supplied further details with an
unwilling expression on his face.

"The teachers understand that I wasn't intentionally getting them
wrong, but they still advised me to transfer."

"Transfer?"

"Why? Why would they do that?"

Mizuki and Honoka both shouted out with their faces completely pale,
while the other three wore similar expressions.

"Among the Nine Schools, Fourth High is renowned for their specialty
in Magic Research, so the teachers suggested I transfer there. I
declined, of course."

Two people let out sighs of relief, while two others looked furious.

The former two were Mizuki and Honoka, the latter Leo and Erika.

The last member of this conversation wore an unreadable poker face.

"......So if someone doesn't excel in technical skills, then they should
join a school that doesn't emphasize technical skills at all, isn't that
completely self-contradictory for a school? I can understand if
someone's grades were bad and they couldn't keep up in class, but
that's obviously not the case with Tatsuya."

"Probably because he's an eyesore. Maybe Tatsuya-kun knows more
about magic than the teachers themselves."

"Relax, you two."

If left alone, Leo and Erika would only feed off each other's fury, so
Tatsuya stepped in to extinguish them.

"It's just as Leo said, barely passing is still passing, so there's nothing
that would necessitate a transfer. It's possible that the teachers only
had my best interests at heart. Regardless, even if that was the case,
these best interests possess no empathy, and are solely in place to
protect themselves."

Tatsuya's soft tone did nothing to cover his acidic assessment, causing
the originally furious pair to shrink away. This was precisely the
cooling effect that Tatsuya aimed for, and while the method may be
called vile, but alas, the result was not the most ideal.

"At the end of the day, I think that teachers shouldn't be mistaken in
the first place."

Just as everyone was hesitant towards what to say next, Shizuku spoke
up in a singular manner that was neither supportive nor critical. From
the way her comment relaxed the tension caused by Tatsuya's mocking
words, the overall effect would probably be categorized as supportive.

"Fourth High doesn't scoff at technical skills, but when compared to
the combat-centric magic that would be expressed in the Nine Schools
Competition, they are more interested in further intricate techniques,
the more complex and procedures the better."

"Is that so? Shizuku-chan, you know quite a lot about this."

"That's because my cousin studies at Fourth High."

Hearing Shizuku's answer to Mizuki, Honoka and the other four
people said "So that's how it is" as they nodded. Given that this came

from a student attending Fourth High, this should be a reliable source
of information.

As everyone professed agreement to these words, they also sprouted
considerable mistrust towards the teacher that summoned Tatsuya.

However, this group of individuals wouldn't focus their attentions on a
stranger (the teacher) who wasn't with them at the time.

"Speaking of which, it's almost time for the Nine Schools
Competition, right?"

Leo probably recalled what Shizuku was saying earlier, to which
Tatsuya nodded at his inquiry.

"Miyuki is already complaining. There are a lot of things to account
for, including vehicles, tools, and uniforms."

"Isn't Miyuki-chan also participating in the competition? That sounds
tough."

Mizuki wasn't being overly polite, but she was honestly concerned on
Miyuki's behalf.

"However, Miyuki should be able to cruise during the newcomers'
competition, so the preparation work should be more intensive."

Erika replied in a manner that half supported and half refuted the
earlier sentiment.

"Don't be overconfident. The scion of the Ichijou Family started
attending Third High this year."

Shizuku's objection was a little off the mark. The official and
newcomers competitions in the Nine Schools Competition were
separated by gender, so there was no way Miyuki would go against the
young master from the Ichijou Family.

That being said, no one intentionally retorted at this.

"Is that so......"

"You say Ichijou, as in Ichijou from the Ten Master Clans?"

From their heartfelt expressions of surprise, this appeared to be the
first time Erika and Leo found out that someone in their year was
descended from the Ten Master Clans. Mizuki didn't seem too
astounded, maybe she knew something about the "scion of the Ichijou

Family".

"That might be a tough opponent. That being said, Shizuku you sure
know a lot."

"Shizuku is a die hard fan of 'Monolith Code', so she watches the Nine
Schools Competition every year, right?"

Honoka, who knew Shizuku as well as she knew herself, answered
Erika's question.

"......Hm, yeah."

Hearing Honoka answer for her, the normally expressionless Shizuku
nodded in slight embarrassment. Honoka owed Tatsuya a favor, so it
wasn't surprising for her to be interested in Tatsuya. However, Shizuku
was different; she only knew Tatsuya because her best friend Honoka
was interested in him, as well as the fact that he was Miyuki's older
brother. Initially, Shizuku had only commented from the periphery, but
gradually she had lowered her guard and started expressing herself
openly.

"Now that you mention it, besides the All-Japanese and the
International University Intramural, 'Monolith Code' can only be seen
at the Nine Schools Competition."

Standing diagonally across from the embarrassed Shizuku, Tatsuya
nodded upon hearing Honoka's answer, wearing an expression that
signified that he understood that sentiment.

Nine Schools Competition was an inter-school competition between
high schools affiliated with magic universities. In other words, it was
an internal competition that happened to be open for public viewing.

That was because the Nine Schools Competition was one of the few
stages that provided magic competition as entertainment.

Every year, a total of 1200 students entered their first year at the nine
magic high schools.

In comparison, there were anywhere between 1200 and 1500 young
men and women of age 15 every year who developed enough magic
talent to be accepted.

In other words, for the youths that manifested magic talent, if they
aimed to become Magicians or Magic Artificers, almost every single

one of them would enter one of the nine magic high schools.

So the magic competitions at the high school level, besides kenjutsu,
martial arts, and a few others, were completely monopolized by the
nine magic high schools.

In order to allow the general public to better understand and become
invested in magic competitions, as well as to further society's
acknowledgement of magic, the Nine Schools Competition had
become one of the few major events to propagate these ideas.

"Our toughest opponent this year is going to be Third High, right?"

"Probably."

Knowing this to be Shizuku's area of expertise, Erika specifically
asked for her opinion. In response, Shizuku simply nodded happily.

"And this year you're not in the audience, but one of the contestants,
right?"

Shizuku was Second Place in technical skills for their year; so even if
the official roster hadn't been publicized yet, Shizuku was like Miyuki
in that they were guaranteed to be selected.

"Yeah......"

Hearing Mizuki's question, Shizuku quietly nodded in response, her
face illuminated with motivation.

◊◊◊

After finals were over, Tatsuya spent almost every afternoon in the
HQ of the Public Morals Committee.

Immediately after summer vacation, the election for the new Student
Council President would be held.

After a new President was elected, a new Public Morals Committee
would be selected, along with its new corresponding Chief based on
the new elections.

According to tradition...... More like according to bad habits, there had
never been a smooth transfer between Chiefs of the Committee. More

often than not, the unorganized activities record and current members
were tossed to the incoming Chief to handle.

That being said, when Mari took over as Chief during her first year,
there was no problem with the transfer the following year. However,
the 2nd Year students in her Public Morals Committee had insufficient
experience, so Mari wished to minimize the confusion during the
transfer of power between Chiefs.

—Regarding all the documents necessary for the transfer, Mari tossed
that responsibility to Tatsuya.

"I'm starting to think I'm a goody two-shoes......"

"A goody two-shoes that's bad to the core? I think this dual nature of
yours is quite interesting."

"............"

This comment was overly pertinent, rendering Tatsuya unable to reply.

"However, this time I'm very grateful for your good side, since
without your help, we would only be repeating past disasters."

Mari comforted him in this way probably because she felt a little
guilty seeing Tatsuya silently plugging away at his work.

Yet, Tatsuya did not possess split personalities, nor was he merely
helping to organize the material. He was the only one organizing the
materials.

These words achieved no comforting effect whatsoever.

"Even so, you've started preparing for the transfer very early?"

Tatsuya asked a piercing question without stopping his hands from
their work.

The documents he was preparing would be completed in a week.

If no further input of additional details was needed, this would create a
two month buffer zone.

Also, there was no guarantee that major events or incidents would not
occur during this time period.

This wasn't the type of material that should be created as soon as
possible.

"Once we start preparing for the Nine Schools Competition, we won't
have the time to compile this. There's a mountain of things to do, from
verifying the roster, training, adjusting equipment, gathering and
analyzing data, to devising strategies."

All these things had nothing to do with Tatsuya.

"......When is the Nine Schools Competition going to be held?"

That being said, cutting off the conversation here would be awkward,
so Tatsuya focused all his attention back onto data organization as he
asked this.

"Ten days, from August 3rd to the 12th."

"That's quite a long time."

"Hm? You've never seen it?"

"Yes, since I've always been busy with errands during summer
vacations."

Tatsuya's answer thoroughly confounded Mari.

"But according to Mayumi, your little sister goes to see it every year,
to the point that she even remembers what events we competed in......"

Tatsuya almost burst out laughing.

"No, it's not like we're attached at the hip 365 days a year......
Occasionally we move separately as well."

"Eh? ......No, that's true. It's just that whenever we see the two of you,
it's like you're always with each other."

"Speaking of which, we're usually on our own at school."

After Tatsuya objectively pointed this out, even if Mari's expression
revealed her incomprehension, she nevertheless still accepted it.

"If that's the case, no wonder you were completely lost when I started
talking about the preparations for the Nine Schools Competition."

"Yes, to be honest, I don't even know what competitions are being
held. I only know about 'Monolith Code' and 'Mirage Bat'."

While it was true that he was multitasking between making
conversation and creating the data files, this only served as a refresher
for Tatsuya. And for Mari, who was currently idle — or more like the

one who didn't want to do anything — this was a good way to pass the
time, so Tatsuya was more talkative than usual.

"That's because those two are the most famous......"

Mari tilted her head, as if she didn't know where to start. She held her
fist before her mouth, as if she were about to cough (but didn't actually
make the coughing sound).

"The contests in the Nine Schools Competition focus on the events in
athletic magic contests that require more Magic Power."

"This I know."

Tatsuya replied without stopping his fingers from working.

"In the past, they would change the events every competition, but
recent years have seen the same contests every year.

There are six contests: 'Monolith Code', 'Mirage Bat', 'Icicle
Destruction', 'Speed Shooting', 'Crowd Ball', and 'Battle Board'.

Kenjutsu, Chinese magic martial arts and other combat related
contests, as well as athletic competitions like gymnastics and
basketball are held at a different event."

"Doesn't 'Crowd Ball' and 'Battle Board' rely heavily on physical
abilities?"

"Yes. Magicians are only human, so there's no reason to undervalue
physical capabilities. Even in 1 on 1 duels between Magicians, there
are cases where the individual with the superior physical abilities has
emerged victorious. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate on this point."

"That's true."

Tatsuya knew this very well, so his agreement with Mari's words was
truly heartfelt.

"Of the six contests, only 'Monolith Code' is a team event, the other
five are solo acts."

"Isn't 'Crowd Ball' a two man show?"

"This is where the Nine Schools Competition gets evil. In order to
emphasize the importance of Magic Power, this contest has a solo
performance rule. I have a booklet that summarizes the rules, want to
take a look?"

"Sure, I'll take a look later."

Tatsuya stopped typing and accepted a small booklet from Mari.

"Huh, a hard copy. How strange."

"Anything related to the Nine Schools Competition wouldn't be
surprising. Virtual terminals would hurt the Magic Power's conceptual
foundation. On the other hand, besides Magicians, there are very few
people that actually use substantial terminal devices, and the number
of Magicians using virtual terminals has also increased."

"I see, so that's why the Nine Schools Competition uses hard copies
instead of terminal devices."

"Eh? So Tatsuya-kun prefers the usage of virtual terminals?"

She probably heard the critical elements in Tatsuya's undertone.

With Mari's normally brash manner and her amusing tendency to be
"poor at organizing", it was easy to forget that she was a very
perceptive individual.

Tatsuya took this under consideration and selected his words —
without stopping his typing motions — more prudently.

"There is some basis that virtual terminals negatively impact
Magicians that have not reached maturity. Especially for students
under twenty that are still developing their power, I think they should
avoid using virtual models. But for adult Magicians whose Magic
Power has been fully developed, I don't feel that there's any reason to
stop them from using virtual models."

"......That's another way to look at it. Forcing adults to abandon the
efficiency gained from virtual models simply because it poses harm to
children seems a little overkill."

There was a brief lull in the conversation. Tatsuya was busy reviewing
the information he inputted on the screen, so he had no way of
discerning Mari's current expression, but he guessed that she would be
considering his earlier comment.

No matter how ridiculously she usually acted, there was no way for
her to disguise her inner sense of righteousness.

For some reason, that fact caused Tatsuya to smile a bit.

"......We've drifted off topic."

Mari seemed to have arrived at some conclusion of her own before she
turned the conversation back to the Nine Schools Competition without
any forewarning.

"The competition is separated into the Official and Newcomer
Divisions, each requiring 10 men and women, for a grand total of 40.
Only 1st Year students may participate in the Newcomer Division
while the Official Division has no restrictions. That being said, each
contestant may perform only in two contests, so no 1st Year student
has ever competed in the Official Division. Even if it wasn't in the
rules, there's no way for 1st Year students to stand up against the
firepower of a 2nd or 3rd Year student.

Until last year, the Newcomers Division was not separated by gender,
but from this year onward, both the Official and Newcomers Division
will be. Also until last year, no 1st Year female student had to compete
in multiple contests, but that may be unavoidable this year."

Mari's words were out of concern for Miyuki, which was obvious
without naming her aloud.

Continuously participating in magic competitions was extremely
taxing on the female body. Even though Miyuki had undergone
training beyond that of a normal person, her physical stature was by
nature more feeble. It would probably be best that he provided as
much aid as he could, Tatsuya thought.

"Of the six contests, four are not gender specific. 'Monolith Code' is
men only and 'Mirage Bat' is women only...... Since 'Monolith Code' is
the only event where live combat is guaranteed, it's not surprising that
the event is men only."

Mari might have been saying this, but her facial expression clearly
didn't agree.

According to the information Tatsuya gathered from the Public Moral
Committee, Mari's magic specialized in anti-personnel combat, so she
must have resented being excluded from this particular event.

"The maximum number of participants per contest is three from each
school, with men and women calculated separately. So including the
Official and Newcomers Division, 5 men and women have to select

two of the five events while the other five can participate only in one.

As for deciding who competes in which events, that is based on
whether skilled contestants should only focus on emerging victorious
in one event, or maximizing profit by applying for two events; and
then there is considering where the opposing aces will go, and who
they will go up against...... Since this is a team-based competition, all
of these details are very important."

"Of course."

"Besides the contestants, the Nine Schools Competition allows each
school to bring four people as tactical advisers, but not every school
takes advantage of this option. Our school always brings the
maximum amount of personnel each year, but schools such as Third
High opt to waive the tactical support when competing, relying solely
on their contestants to decide their tactics."

"Yet, ironically, they are our toughest opponent."

"We've only lost to them twice, once three years ago and the other
time seven years ago. The Nine Arts Competition switched to a
summer format ten years ago. Since then, there have been 9
competitions. Our school was the champion 5 times, Third High twice,
and Second High and Ninth High have each won once."

"I believe this year's goal is for a three-peat?"

"That's right. For us 3rd Year students, securing the championship is
the true victory."

Currently, the 3rd Year students at First High were known collectively
as "the strongest era".

Saegusa Mayumi, Juumonji Katsuto, Watanabe Mari.

Two of them were directly connected to the Ten Master Clans, while
the third possessed similar talent.

Just the fact that all three of them were in the same year at the same
school was an amazing coincidence. In addition, the campus also
boasted several students that were qualified for Rank A in high school
(they were unable to obtain their licenses due to limited experience,
but their raw ability alone was sufficient for their ranking based on
international standards).

Even before the official roster for the Nine Schools Competition had
been announced, First High was already seen as the favorite to repeat
as champions.

Even if the underground gamblers were using the Nine Schools
Competition as a setting, no one was taking odds for First High —
that's how overwhelmingly powerful their group was.

"I hear that if everything goes according to plan, our school's victory
is a foregone conclusion?"

"Probably. There are no concerns on the contestants' end. Even taking
the Newcomers Division into consideration, as long as there's no
major mishap, we should win off the points from the Official Division.
If there were any real concerns, I'd say it would be engineers."

"Engineers? You mean people responsible for CAD maintenance?"

"Exactly, except the official term from the Nine Schools Competition
is Technicians. The CADs used at the Nine Schools Competition must
be universally adaptable, so only models that fit the criteria are
allowed. On the other hand, there are only restrictions on the hardware
itself, there are no restrictions on software. How well individual CADs
can be synchronized to the appropriate contestant and whether the
maintenance can bring out the contestant's maximum potential are
absolutely decisive in determining victory."

How fast an Activation Sequence initializes was entirely reliant on the
CAD's hardware, but the efficiency of Magic Sequences was heavily
influenced by the design of the CAD's software. Given that a single
second could spell the difference between victory and defeat in
athletic competitions, a properly devised software program was of
vital importance.

By no means did this imply that the more intricate the design was or
the more processes that were used, the better the software becomes.
Software that surpassed the processing power would cause more harm
than good by obstructing the hardware itself.

Given that there was a glass ceiling for hardware, the selection and
allocation of software became even more important.

Tatsuya believed that, under these conditions, the competition results
could change dramatically based on the engineers' skills.

"Right now, there's a dearth of talented engineers in 3rd Year when
compared to qualified contestants. Mayumi and Juumonji are capable
of maintaining their own CADs so they won't have problems during
the competition, but......"

"......"

In other words, Mari did not excel in this category.

Tatsuya accurately read the inference behind Mari's vague words but,
precisely because he understood, he chose to say nothing.

He allowed his attention to drift away from Mari's small talk and focus
back onto the data files.

◊◊◊

Improvements in central control of public transit had led to the
complete overhaul of the trolley system, with trolley cars becoming
the primary source of public transportation within the city proper. The
cars on the tracks were completely controlled by a central operating
room in order to ensure safety, ease of access, and the ability to
combat the high volume demanded.

On the other hand, the advancement of the public transportation
system had not proceeded as planned. The program for connecting all
the highways had already been inputted into the system, but most of
the normal roads and expressways within city limits were still
controlled by the city and had not reached a national level.

In comparison, the AI for driver assistance had improved dramatically.

As long as they hadn't been illegally modified, modern cars were
incapable of causing accidents even if they tried (Katsuto's car was
able to directly impact Blanche's HQ because that was a military
model).

Vehicles exported to other nations also possessed the same AI system,
allowing smaller countries to also benefit from this system even
though they didn't have the capability to develop it themselves, which
in turn lowered the frequency of accidents even further. From an
international standpoint, individual control systems trumped central

control systems.

Despite this, there was still a price to pay. New drivers — or to put it
bluntly, bad drivers — wouldn't run the risk of causing accidents, but
it was easier for them to cause traffic jams. Even if consecutive
crashes could be avoided, there was no avoiding situations where
everyone slammed on the brakes, so this result was only natural.

To prevent this — at least on the outside — even if there wasn't a
pressing need for safety, driver's licenses were still mandatory.

Next to his new electric bike, Tatsuya was waiting for his little sister
to arrive.

Tatsuya had purchased this bike after obtaining his license in early
April. Though the purchase was strictly for practical purposes rather
than joy rides, the bike had still accrued considerable mileage. Even
so, Tatsuya regularly maintained the bike every day, so even after two
months, the bike was still in mint condition.

"Onii-sama, sorry for the wait."

Upon hearing the voice, Tatsuya shifted his gaze over as the headlights
illuminated his sister's slim body.

Miyuki's long hair was done up in a bun while she wore a biker's suit
in the same fashion as Tatsuya's own. The custom fit suit hugged her
curves, hinting at the fullness of her womanly charms.

As Tatsuya put the helmet on Miyuki's head, Miyuki smoothly lifted
her chin. His little sister's seemingly natural motion caused Tatsuya to
wryly grin, but he still buckled on the chin strap for her.

Miyuki shrank her neck as if ticklish, to which Tatsuya responded with
a smile as he put on his own helmet before climbing aboard.

He took out his goggles, then motioned Miyuki to hold on tight.

Tatsuya verified that Miyuki was holding on to his waist and that she
was pressed against his back before adjusting his goggles and raising
the output of the continuous motion device (equivalent to the gas
pedal of motor vehicles).

The electric bike that the siblings rode sped away beneath the night
sky.

◊◊◊

Their destination was Yakumo's temple.

However, the one training tonight was Miyuki and not Tatsuya.

Miyuki had already been selected as a participant in the Nine Schools
Competition, so additional preparation was necessary.

The events in the Nine Schools Competition heavily emphasized the
need for magic talent, but at the same time did not wholly ignore
physical characteristics. In the "Battle Board" event, contestants with
faster reflexes and a better sense of balance held the advantage, while
the "Crowd Ball" event required a good balance between tactics and
stamina.

For Miyuki, who excelled in Speed and Freezing Magics, "Icicle
Destruction" was almost specifically designed to show off her talents.
Forget the Newcomers Division, she could probably cruise to victory
even in the Official Division.

However, with the individual contests split by gender causing the
number of events to increase, Miyuki was also going to participate in
the "Mirage Bat" event, where she would have to "use a bat to split
open the balls of light floating in the air".

Miyuki also received martial training from Yakumo alongside Tatsuya,
so her frail frame belied her superb physical status. Even so, given that
there weren't many opportunities lately for her to exercise, this
training served as a precaution for the main event.

Tatsuya turned off the engine near the entrance before pushing the
vehicle into the temple. After leaving the vehicle in the temple garage,
the two of them went to greet Yakumo.

At this hour, Yakumo should be doing night training with his disciples.

Just as they expected, as they approached the darkened dojo, they
could detect various concealed presences, as well as the occasional
footstep that couldn't be completely muffled and the sounds of bodies
hitting the floor.

Tatsuya slowly pried open the ancient doors to avoid distracting the
disciples from training.

Even though the door opened without a sound, a kunai still came
flying towards them. Tatsuya used the blade-proof and bullet-proof
jacket to deflect it before pulling out a lead ball concealed in his biker
suit and firing back.

However, Tatsuya's "marble" (a type of concealed weapon that is
hurtled using finger force alone, from the same system as "point ball")
didn't seem like it hit the target.

"Tatsuya, it looks like your marbles haven't improved much. Don't
think magic is enough to cut it, you need to practice your projectile
weapons as well. However, you made the correct decision in
deflecting the kunai rather than catching it."

There was no detectable presence, only the voice.

Tatsuya didn't aim right in front of him where the voice came from,
but instead fired a second marble towards the rightmost wall.

"Oh ho?"

Accompanying this surprised shout, a force rippled outwards from the
spot Tatsuya aimed at.

Tatsuya quickly put an arm around Miyuki and sprang backwards.

A split second later, a pitch black sword wave slashed down vertically
from the ceiling above, barely missing Tatsuya's back by a hair as he
covered his little sister.

Tatsuya quickly stepped forward with one foot.

A bokken painted completely black was rendered completely still with
Tatsuya firmly stamping on it.

Yakumo abandoned the idea of striking a second time as he let go of
his immobile weapon.

"......Sensei, you have such an interesting way of greeting people."

"......I should be the one saying that. Wasn't your marble filled with
killing intent?"

Master and disciple faced one another in the darkness, before
simultaneously breaking out into evil laughter.

Tucked inside Tatsuya's bosom, Miyuki was blushing furiously.
Thankfully, that was difficult to discern in the surrounding darkness
— at least that was what Miyuki thought, but Tatsuya had already
noticed due to being in contact with her stiff body, while Yakumo had
detected this through her erratic breathing.

◊◊◊

Somewhere within the temple illuminated by torches in the four
corners, in a place usually reserved for homa ceremonies (this temple
should be under Hisanyama's jurisdiction, but Tatsuya and Miyuki
have never seen Yakumo chant sutras or pray to Buddha), the area was
faintly lit by blue light, with orbs glowing with a dim red light softly
dancing in the sky.

Because this was a temple, any ignorant passerby may mistake this
scene for the presence of spirits, but fortunately there was no one else
around.

A slender, long shadow passed through the blue light, and one orb of
light vanished into nothing.

Two orbs, three orbs, the difference in color started to increase.

That mesmerizing figure was chasing the floating orbs at an energetic
and unexpected pace, then swiftly bisecting them with the short rod in
her hand.

After splitting thirty orbs, Tatsuya signaled Miyuki to take a break.

Inside, the interior only contained a square barrier drawn with
quicklime that measured about 11 meters on the side — the raw power
necessary to only draw four white lines to form a barrier was nothing
short of astounding — Tatsuya brought a large tea cup towards where
Yakumo was standing as he brought down the seals.

Normally, Miyuki was the one responsible for bringing tea to the
panting Yakumo, but Tatsuya took over that duty today.

That was because tonight Miyuki was in a similar state while standing
on the other side of the white line.

"Sensei, thank you. Not just for lending the location, but also for
training my little sister as well."

After handing the tea to Yakumo, Tatsuya bowed deeply in gratitude,
to which Yakumo nodded generously.

"There's a colossal difference between attacking illusions and striking
actual targets. Miyuki is also one of my cute students, so there's no
way I would decline to help."

There was probably too much emphasis on the word "cute", but
Tatsuya decided to let it slide until after the Nine Schools
Competition.

Illusion magic was one area where "ninjitsu" excelled, to the point that
the speed, accuracy, and movements of the illusions surpassed those
created by modern magics. Modern magic had the advantage in terms
of speed of activation and variety of spells available, but within
specialized parameters, there were many areas that could not compare
with Ancient Magic.

Tatsuya only had access to a few magics, so he was unable to use
Yakumo's illusion "Will O'wisp" to replace projectors.

"Miyuki, should we stop here?"

Tatsuya asked as he handed a drink to his sister who was still panting,
but Miyuki shook her head and took a sip to wet her throat.

"If sensei is okay, I want to continue."

"I don't mind, though shouldn't Tatsuya also give 'Will O'wisp' a try?"

"No, I...... will pass."

Tatsuya could approximately guess the reason behind Yakumo's smirk.

Tatsuya briefly entertained the idea of spoiling Yakumo's fun, but
refrained after taking into account that Miyuki's training took
precedence.

"Is that so, eh, oh well."

Yakumo revealed a truly regretful expression, but that wasn't enough
to hide his mischievous smirk.

Seeing this, Tatsuya was certain that declining the earlier offer was the
right choice.

Yakumo transformed his evil smirk into a kind and approachable smile
as he turned back to face Miyuki.

"Then let's begin."

"Yes, sensei."

Miyuki bowed to signal that she was prepared to continue.

Tatsuya had long since recovered their respective tea cups.

Just as Miyuki stood in the middle of the square anchored by bonfires
and Yakumo was about to start casting illusions......

"Who's there?"

Another person's presence entered the scene.

The one who called out was Tatsuya.

No, the order was actually reversed.

To supplement the training, Tatsuya linked his sensory ability to the
information dimension, allowing him to quickly catch wind of a
foreign element being introduced into the area. The moment Tatsuya
challenged the silent patch of darkness, another person's presence
abruptly materialized.

"Ah, Haruka."

Yakumo greeted the presence in an unconcerned manner.

Tatsuya and Miyuki were both familiar with this name.

The figure that walked into the flickering light possessed a much more
mature aura than Miyuki.

She was the counselor from the Magic University affiliated First High
— Ono Haruka.

Likely due to the fact that she was wearing the same dark bodysuit
that Miyuki was wearing, it seemed that the curves of her chest and
waist were more accentuated than usual.

As Miyuki followed the direction of Tatsuya's gaze, a trace of concern
flashed across her features. However, before she could nudge her
brother with her elbow, she noticed the cold, steely gaze in her
brother's eyes and swiftly regained her composure.

The reason why Tatsuya was carefully scrutinizing Haruka's body was

to ascertain Haruka's physical capabilities.

"Tatsuya, no need to be so wary, Haruka is also one of my students."

"But you weren't nearly as kind during my training as compared to
Shiba-kun."

Haruka's voice was slightly mocking, which jarred against her
dangerous appearance that could easily be swallowed in the darkness.

"That being said, I know that sensei is another story, but to think that I
was discovered by Shiba-kun, has my technique regressed so much?"

"Haruka, lying to yourself isn't a good habit. If you lie too often, you
will lose track of your own thoughts as well."

"Shiba-kun said the same thing to me."

"Oh, looks like I said something unnecessary. Anyways, let's set this
aside for now. Haruka's cloaking was almost perfect, so there's no
need to stress about that. If you really think that your skills have
regressed, that is."

Haruka revealed a model perfunctory smile and accepted Yakumo's
hinted gaze.

She shouldn't be able to get off that easily, nor should she have
planned to do so in the first place.

Seeing Yakumo's smirking expression, this was probably how the two
of them normally interacted.

"Tatsuya didn't detect your presence normally. He has a pair of special
'eyes' that are different from ours, so if you want to fool him, you need
to disguise your presence rather than try to hide it."

"I see...... I'll take that under advisement."

"It's your turn to answer my question."

The two of them were acting out a master and disciple discussion
using Tatsuya as the subject. Unable to harness his irritation, Tatsuya
intentionally broke in with a displeased tone.

"Hm...... It is unfair to give only Haruka information. You don't mind,
right, Haruka?"

Yakumo intentionally let out a "Hm......" sound to create an opening,

but given his current attitude, it was obvious that he was calculating
when Tatsuya would interrupt them. In response to Yakumo turning
the conversation towards her, Haruka immediately shrugged her
shoulders and replied:

"Even if I said no, you guys would probably discuss this when I'm not
here, right?"

Essentially, Haruka had already given up on hiding.

"Since the person in question has given her consent, then I'll go
ahead...... Haruka is an investigator for Public Safety."

Yakumo's explanation was very simple, as just this alone would be
sufficient. Even so, Tatsuya hoped that Yakumo would take it a step
further.

"Hm? You don't look very surprised."

However, Yakumo posed a question of his own.

It appeared that he was expecting the Shiba siblings to be astonished.

Not just Tatsuya, but even Miyuki accepted Haruka's real identity
without batting an eyelid, which surprised Yakumo considerably, or
perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that it disappointed
Yakumo considerably.

"I have my own information network, so I know that Ono-sensei isn't
military. Ruling that out, the only possibilities were Public Safety
(Police Department of Public Safety), Internal Affairs (Cabinet
Agency of Data Supervision), or foreign spy."

Tatsuya's answer caused Yakumo to furrow his brows.

"Rather than saying information network, it's more like 'he' provided
you with that information. Is that okay?...... Given his position, he
may be dishonorably discharged for leaking confidential information
to a high school student."

That being said, Yakumo's perfectly calm expression clearly showed
that he wasn't overly concerned.

"In terms of position, sensei is roughly the same...... So, Ono-sensei is
Public Safety's undercover agent in the guise of a counselor to
investigate the anti-government activities centered around Blanche

within the First High campus, did I get that right so far?"

"No."

Tatsuya asked this to verify his hypothesis regarding Haruka.

But Haruka responded with the definite negative.

"It's true that I'm Public Safety's undercover agent, but I didn't
disguise myself as a counselor. In chronological order, my current
superior approached me while I was thinking about becoming a
counselor, and I became a special investigator for Public Safety after I
arrived at First High. Two years ago, I spent one year under Yakumo-
sensei, so Tatsuya-kun is actually my senior."

"Even though you only studied for one year, your cloaking ability is
quite proficient."

"That is my magic specialty, even if I can't use any other magic. This
is also the reason why my superior rates me highly."

"......I see, you're a BS (Born Specialized) Magician?"

"I dislike that term."

Haruka pouted and turned her head like a young school girl throwing a
tantrum, causing Tatsuya to break into a smile.

BS Magicians, also known as BS ability users, could also be called
innate ability users or innate magic specialists. This was because they
excelled at a particular ability, but because of this extreme
specialization, they were unable to use magic techniques like other
Magicians of the same level.

As could be seen from the malicious label "the 101 tricks of BS
users", BS Magicians occupied a lower social stratum than normal
Magicians, but their unique ability was practically impossible for
other people to imitate. Even if someone could accomplish this, they
were unable to replicate the same level of quality BS users were
capable of. If properly matched with their specialty, they often
outperformed the generic "omnipotent" Magicians.

"Rather than being a jack of all trades, I'd rather be a master of one.
However, that's a matter of Haruka-sensei's perspective."

As soon as Tatsuya said this, he realized that the student and counselor

positions had been reversed. However, given that this was off campus
and they certainly weren't in class at this hour, this shouldn't have been
a problem.

Probably noticing the same thing, Haruka stopped her tantrum, but she
was still unhappy with the situation.

"Shiba-kun, this was a special circumstance, but my identity as a
secret investigator remains highly classified, so please don't tell
anyone else."

Tatsuya's immediate reaction was that there was little meaning in
doing so.

If she was only an undercover agent for Public Safety, the Ten Master
Clans would know anyways.

Erika, whose family had close ties with the police, likely knew
already.

Likewise, Tatsuya had long since caught on to the fact that Haruka
was an agent of some kind, he just hadn't been certain which
organization she was affiliated with.

It was entirely possible that Haruka was the only one who believed her
identity was a secret, but Tatsuya didn't verbalize this.

He merely replied to the request in this fashion:

"I understand, I'll keep it under wraps. Though it might be
presumptious to ask for this in return, but if something similar to what
occurred in April is on the horizon, could you let me know the details
ahead of time?"

"......That's fine. Let's go with that mutually beneficial relationship."

The two of them shook hands, each nursing their own agenda.

◊◊◊

It went without saying that besides magic, magic high schools still
fielded a full curriculum.

This included physical education, which involved using competition

to light the flames of youthful ardor to ridiculous levels, a scene that
had yet to change.

Today's class activity was football.

The encyclopedia's entry was as follows: This is a sport derived from
soccer, with similar rules, that is played on a field surrounded by a
large box with numerous tiny holes in it. The only notable differences
are that players wear a head protector, and head and hand contact are
prohibited (Also, the competition format where players "compete in a
transparent box" was one of the defining characteristics of post-2080
AD athletics.)

Occasionally, this contest was also held with magic involved, but
generally magic was ruled out, and today was no exception.

Football was played with a lightweight, highly resilient ball that
bounced off the walls and ceiling. The ball rebounded left and right at
high speeds, much like a ping pong ball, as players chased after it in
order to make the shot against the opposing goal. It was a sport that
demanded both incredible agility and considerable strength. In
addition, the highly stimulating exercise was a popular sport for
"entertainment".

The female students from 1st Year Classes E and F were currently
taking a break and, completely ignoring their own curriculum, were
busy cheering on the male students.

"Move, move, get outta my way!"

Leo was charging towards the ball that no one was covering.

The ball used in football was highly dynamic, so it was extremely
difficult to dribble with it, hence that action was rarely seen.
Generally, the five players on a team used the walls or ceiling to make
passes, so the energy expended by recovering the ball often decided
victory or defeat.

"Tatsuya!"

Crossing the entire field, Leo passed the ball to Tatsuya in midfield
with the force of a shot.

If he tried to trap the ball with his chest or abdomen he might be
knocked to the floor, so Tatsuya kicked the ball directly upwards,

allowing the ball to lose some its force from the rebound on the ceiling
before trapping it neatly beneath his foot.

After receiving this pass with machine-like efficiency, Tatsuya sent the
ball careening off the wall, using the rebound to pass the ball.

Along the axis of the rebound stood another slim youth. Rather than
calling him slender, he may have been more accurately described as
well-built. Currently, he fearlessly received Tatsuya's high-speed pass
in one motion.

And immediately shot on the enemy goal.

The electric chime signaled the goal, accompanied by the cheers of the
watching female students.

"That guy isn't bad."

Leo bluntly praised the youth as he stood next to Tatsuya.

"Yes, accurate prediction of the flight path, and his appearance belies
his agility."

Tatsuya was faintly surprised by the boy's physical abilities, which
surpassed his expectations. They had been in the same class for 3
months, so today wasn't the first time they were in physical education
together. Tatsuya previously believed that he had an accurate grasp of
the boy's abilities on some level, and his earlier pass was adjusted
accordingly, but this person — Yoshida Mikihiko's actions showed
that he was more than meets the eye.

There were only a mere 25 students in class, so it was natural that
everyone knew each other's names.

Also, Tatsuya knew more than just a name.

Yoshida Mikihiko came from a prestigious family renowned for
Ancient Magic — he was a direct descendant of the Yoshida Family.

The Yoshida Family possessed a Non-Systematic Ancient Magic
called "Spirit Magic", and it was rumored that they passed on their
traditional methods of training as well. Given that it was a traditional
method of practice, arduous labor was probably at the center of it. If
so, members of that family would naturally possess highly capable
physical specifications.